Remember Julie from the Organize a Set of Data in a Stem-and-leaf Plot Concept? Have you ever wondered how to calculate range?

Well, here is the stem-and-leaf plot that Julie created in the previous Concept.

This Concept is all about how you can use a stem-and-leaf plot to determine the range of a set of data. Pay attention and by the end of the Concept you will know how Julie can figure out the range of the data.

Guidance

Previously we worked on how to create a stem-and-leaf plot for a set of data. Once you have the stem-and-leaf plot made, you can use it to figure out the range of a set of data.

What is the
range
?

The range is the difference between the maximum score and the minimum score.

The smallest number in the stem-and-leaf plot is 22. You can see that by looking at the first stem and the first leaf. The greatest number is the last stem and the last leaf on the chart. In this case, the largest number is 55.
To find the range, we subtract the smallest number from the largest number. This difference will give us the range.

55 - 22 = 33

The range is 33 for this set of data.

Look at the following stem-and-leaf plot and answer these questions.

Example A

What is the range for this data set?

Solution: 35

Example B

What is the smallest interval?

Solution: 12 - 14

Example C

What is the greatest interval?

Solution: 42 - 47

Now back to Julie and the stem-and-leaf plot. Here it is once again.

What is the range of Julie's data?

To figure this out, we can find the difference between the greatest value in the data set and the smallest value in the data set.

The range of the data is 34.

Vocabulary

Stem-and-leaf plot

a way of organizing numbers in a data set from least to greatest using place value to organize.

Data

information that has been collected to represent real life information

Ascending

from smallest to largest

Descending

from largest to smallest

Interval

a specific period or arrangement of data

Range

the difference from the largest value to the smallest value

Guided Practice

Here is one for you to try on your own.

What is the range of this data set?

To figure this out, we find the difference between the largest value in the data set and the smallest value in the data set.